A feature of this story from James Salter is its ambiguity, starting with the identity of the protagonist. Is it Gloria, the young divorcee who is too caught-up in partying to take proper care of her demanding six-year-old-son? Or is it Truus, her conscientious nineteen-year-old au pair? And although Truss is certainly the erotic focus of the story, does she really develop the morals of a housefly? Alternatively, could she an exploited victim, guilty only of misguided love, or is everything an unfortunate misunderstanding? Themes: sexual grooming / exploitation, appearance, motherhood, condescension, judgmentalism, jealousy, insecurity, emptiness. More…
A Letter to God
This inspirational story by Gregorio López Fuentes is about a hardworking farmer (Lencho) whose crops are destroyed in a hailstorm. Facing a year in which his wife and children will go hungry, Lencho decides to write to the only one he knows of that is sure to help them: God. He posts the letter, and his faith is such that he is not at all surprised when he gets a letter in reply containing money. In the humorous denouement, Lencho’s faith in God is vindicated, but not so his faith in the post office. Themes: faith, unpredictability, kindness, misunderstanding, ingratitude. More…
The Blue Jar
In this Isak Dinesen (aka Karen Blixen) story, a shipwreck leads to a quest. A sailor rescues the daughter of an art-collecting nobleman from a burning ship. They spend nine days alone in a lifeboat, during which they become lovers. The nobleman pays the sailor to return to sea, and she spends the rest of her life sailing the world, ostensibly seeking a uniquely colored Chinese porcelain jar. The jar, a symbol of the woman’s lost youth and time in the lifeboat, becomes her final resting place. Themes: enduring love, class, aging, beauty in art vs. the beauty of nature. More…
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
Author Ernest Hemingway goes to great lengths to set up an ambiguous ending to this story about a rich American couple’s fateful big game hunting safari in Africa. No longer (and perhaps never) in love, the couple barely tolerate each other. She can’t afford to divorce him, and he is unlikely to find a more attractive trophy wife. Readers are left to consider whether Francis’s death was murder or an unfortunate accident. What do you think? The major themes are clearly courage and masculinity. Other themes: fear; shame; violence; marriage breakdown; beauty & aging; adultery; misogyny & female stereotyping. More…
Stray
Heavy snow can cause many problems, closing roads and stopping people from going to work or school. Today’s story from Cynthia Rylant is about Doris, an only child from a poor family. A cold, shivering puppy comes into her yard as she is clearing snow from around the front door. It has been abandoned. She takes the animal inside and cares for it, knowing that her parents will say they don’t have the money to keep a dog and take it away when the snow clears. The story’s themes are loneliness, compassion, responsibility, understanding, cruelty to animals, kindness and love. More…